Thursday, August 22, 2013

Stuffed Raisins and Fried Lemons.

Even in my most enthusiastic cooking moments, and in spite of how
delicious they sound, I cannot imagine slicing open some good raisins,
sandwiching them together with a mixture of herbs, and frying them.

These intriguing treats are called ‘dropt razins’ –I have yet to
develop a theory about the name (they are ‘dropped’ into the pan?) - and instructions for making them appears in John
Murrell’s New Booke of Cookerie
published in 1617. The recipe references the ‘foresaid stuff’ in the previous
recipe, which also sounds most deliciously interesting, so I give you both:

To
make French puffes with greene Hearbes.

Take
Spinage, Parsley, Endive, a sprigge or two of Savory: mince them very fine:
season them with Nutmeg, Ginger, and Sugar. Wet them with Egges, according to
the quantitie of the Hearbes, more or lesse.

Then
take the coare of a Lemmon, cut it in round slices very thinne: put to every
slice of your Lemmon one spoonful of this stuffe. Then frye it with sweet Lard
in a frying-panne as you fry Egges, and serve them with sippets, or without,
sprinkle them eyther with White-wine or Sacke, or any other Wine, saving
Rennish-wine. Serve them eyther at Dinner or Supper.

Dropt
Razins.

Take
the fairest Razins of the Sun, slit them on one side: lay them open, as round
and broad as you can. Then take the aforesaid hearbs mint and seasoned, and lay
betwixt two razins as many as you can close between them. Take half a spoonful
of the foresaid stuffe that you fryed your Lemons with: frye them browne.

The instructions are so precise, and still so comprehensible to the modern reader, that it is difficult to imagine that anything has been omitted. Frying the lemon slices seems a little odd. And lemons must have been a luxury item at that date.